The Greenville times. [volume] (Greenville, Miss.) 1868-1917, 1887-03-26
BEAVERS ENDlNCER A LEVEE.

Gen. Ferguson has handed us
the following copy of a statement
submitted to the River Commits.
sion by Capt. Klingman:
Glasscock's Levee, so termed,
Is portion OF the embankment
built by the United States under
the name of Green's to Fairview
Levee, and is q stretch of heavy
embankment running through u
low swamp for a distance of about
three miles. During the high wa.
ter of 1886 II was reported to be
in a dangerous condition and a
break was only prevented by the
exertion Of parties living In the
nelghborhood. This weakness be
ing unexpected and apparently un.
accountable gave rise to rumors
of defective construction, that
logs, barrels etc, had been placed
in the embaukment. Upon the
decline of the food the true cause
was discovered. The barrow pits
dug in the construction Of tho
levee, being in "buekshop soil
which is non.absorbent, remained
filed with water the year round,
and IN these pits u colony of beav.
ers had located. They had made
their dens or houses in the levee
embankment itself, and had tun.
nelled almost through at several
points. An inspection was made
and one place discovered, (the
point at which q break had been
threatened). where the beavers had
made a hole entirely through the
embankment. The levee being
thickly overgrown with young sap.
lings, brIars and weeds, it was i'm
possible to detect all the damage
that had been done. The first
work undertaken was therefore to
clean the levee of entirely, and in
doing SO six separate places were
discovered where the embank
ment had been burrowed into by
the beavers. A ditch was then
dug to drain the barrow pits into
the river and deprive the beavers
of their harbOr. THIS ditch was
twice closed by the beavers, but
ultimately the greater portion of
the water was drained off. The
work of cutting out the beaver
holes in the leyee was then com
menced. The main passage way
to the den generally started at the
outer edge of the levee BERN in
the barrow pits and concealed by
the water. This passage way
would have several branches lead.
ing into the den in the center Of
the levee. The den was generally
located under the land slope ofthe
leyee, aud was from three to four
stories in height, the first being
about OH a level with the natural
surface of the ground, and the up.
permost one nearly up to the
crown of the levee. The injury to
the leyee could hardly have been
greater as 1t was reduced to a
mere shell and was liable to col.
lapse at any time. In repairing
the damage it was found necessa
ry to virtually rebuild the leyee at
several points for length of from
25,to 80 feet. Eight beavers were
killed by the workmen during the
time that they were engaged on
tho repairs. SO far as can be
learned, this is the FIRST instance
IN this district where leveo EN-
bankments have been injured by
beavers. Had a crevasse occur.
red at this locality it would have,
very likely, been attributed to
faulty construction of the levee, or
to the boring of crayfsh, and not
to the true cause.
The above synopsis of the re-
port of the Inspector contains In
| formation that think is of inter.
est to those engaged in the con-
struction and maintenance of le-
wees. DAN @. KINGMAN,
Capt. of Engineers.